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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in For Whom the Bell Tolls, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love in War
Cultural Connections
Violence, Cowardice, and Death
The Eternality of the Present
Summary
Analysis
Robert Jordan, Agustin, and Primitivo build an emplacement for the machine gun with pine branches and stones. Agustin tells Jordan that the gun was brought as a gift to the group, but that no instructions were given to them, though he, Pablo, Primitivo, and Fernando have studied it. Jordan reflects that if they can last through the day and not have to fight, they can “swing the whole show tomorrow.” He thinks that “today will be very interesting or very dull,” and he wonders if Pablo has abandoned the group.
Jordan realizes that the bridge plan will be complicated and made more challenging by the unexpected presence of fascist soldiers near their camp. As the novel begins to move toward its climax, Jordan frets about approaching violence, wonders about Pablo’s loyalty, and desperately tries to maintain his commitment to the war—his stoic devotion to combat.
Themes
Rafael returns with two rabbits he has caught, and Jordan curses at him for not returning earlier. Jordan thinks that Rafael is “truly worthless,” with “no political development, nor any discipline.” He thinks that Roma people should be “exempted” from war like conscientious objectors, since they are virtually worthless. He tells Agustin and Primitivo not to fire the machine gun if they see anyone, but to roll down a rock as warning first, making sure that they are not seen. Jordan says that there would be no point in making a “massacre” by starting a shoot-out, since they need to carry out the bridge offensive so that they can take Segovia.
Again, Robert Jordan makes his thoughts about discipline and prioritizing duty clear: he himself feels obligated to follow orders and carry out missions as precisely as possible, whereas Rafael (supposedly because of his Roma blood, a racist assumption) does not.
Themes
Robert Jordan says that they need to “exterminate” the fascist post at the saw-mill and the road mender’s hut tomorrow morning. Agustin says that for a long time, he wished for action like this, since Pablo has “rotted” them “with inaction.” Above them, the fascist planes fly by, but Jordan says that they cannot see them; still, “they are like a bad dream now.”
Though the guerillas have led a somewhat monotonous life in the mountains before this point, death and destruction now seem certain. Jordan attempts to put this grim future (represented by the threatening fascist planes) out of his mind and focus on the tasks at hand.
Themes
